Page 17 - Indian Hockey Team

Saga of sacrifices inspires Indian women hockey team for Asiad, Olympics

If one saw her mother working tirelessly for earning Rs 800 a month, the other endured the agony of being unemployed for almost a decade, while another learnt the game by playing with bamboo sticks. To Savita Punia, Neha Goyal and Nikki Pradhan hockey brought solace, and these Indian women's team players did not let personal turmoil affect their game. Also plenty of sacrifices were made during their journey to the top, making them hungrier for success. They had their 'Chak de' moment in the Tokyo Olympics where they missed a podium finish by a whisker, and now they are on a mission to realise an unfulfilled dream. The first step would be to secure direct qualification to the Paris Olympics through the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games. They are not leaving any stone unturned, including giving up on their favourite food, in order to improve their willpower and fitness and win gold in Hangzhou. "We know that there are immense expectations from us post Tokyo Olympics and this team is cap

Indian hockey team doesn't want to leave China with regrets: Abhishek

Rising Indian hockey forward Abhishek, who is set for his first major Asian tournament in the upcoming Hangzhou Games, says his aim is to play with confidence and leave China without "any regrets". The 24-year-old has come up the hard way and made a delayed breakthrough in his career but he has cemented his place in the Indian side with some stellar performances -- 18 goals in 48 appearances. "I am ecstatic to have been named to the squad, and I am eager to give my all on the pitch. The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 is a big tournament, and we're preparing accordingly," he said in a Hockey India release. "We'll play with confidence, and our goal is to leave China with no regrets at the end of the tournament," he added. Asked about his team's preparations for the 19th Asian Games, Abhishek said, "We will face some good teams, and we are working very hard in training to make sure we are in the best physical and mental shape when we step onto the pitch." India are placed in Pool A a

Former Indian Hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey joins Congress in Odisha

Former Indian hockey captain Prabodh Tirkey on Monday joined the Congress at the party's Odisha unit headquarters here and expressed his desire to contest the assembly elections next year. He joined the party in the presence of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Sarat Pattanayak, its state in-charge A Chella Kumar and other senior leaders. The former hockey player has expressed his desire to contest the next assembly elections from the Talsara segment in the tribal-dominated Sundergarh district. Tirkey said he decided to join the party as the "work of Rahul Gandhi deeply influenced" him and asserted that his family has a "long association with the Congress". Claiming that the people in the Talsara area are "neglected", he said the "tribals do not get any benefit from government schemes". Tirkey made his debut in the Junior Asia Cup in 2000. He was the national captain of sub-junior, junior and India-A teams and finally became the India senior team captain. He played 135

India beat Pakistan in thrilling shootout, win inaugural Hockey5s Asia Cup

India emerged champions in the Men's Hockey5s Asia Cup here on Saturday, beating arch-rivals Pakistan 2-0 in a shootout after both teams were locked at 4-4 in regulation time. With the win, India have booked their place in the FIH Men's Hockey5s World Cup 2024. For India, Mohammed Raheel (19th and 26th), Jugraj Singh (7th) and Maninder Singh (10th) were the goal scorers during the regulation time, whereas Gurjot Singh and Maninder Singh managed to beat the goalkeeper in the shootout. Pakistan, Abdul Rehman (5th), captain Abdul Rana (13th), Zikriya Hayat (14th) and Arshad Liaqat (19th) were on target for Pakistan. Indian keeper Suraj Karkera made some vital saves before Pakistan broke the deadlock via Rehman in the fifth minute. Jugraj Singh got the equalizer for India just a couple of minutes later. India took the lead with Maninder Singh's reverse hit from a distance. Nevertheless, Pakistan struck back quickly and restored their lead through skipper Abdul Rana (13th) and Zikriya

Asian Games 2023: Akashdeep, Karthi big miss outs in India's hockey squad

Veteran striker Akashdeep Singh and young Karthi Selvam have been dropped but experienced Lalit Upadhyay made a comeback to the 18-member Indian men's hockey team selected for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Hockey India selectors dropped three players -- Akashdeep, Karthi and defender Jugraj Singh from the champion side of the Asian Champions Trophy held in Chennai earlier this month. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh and midfielder Hardik Singh will continue to don the roles of captain and vice-captain in the Asian Games. Jugraj has been replaced by Sanjay, while Lalit and Abhishek came in place of Akashdeep and Karthi. The team has two goalkeepers in veteran PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak. Besides two goalkeepers, the Asian Games-bound team will have six defenders, five midfielders and as many forwards. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Savita Punia will lead the 18-member Indian women's hockey team in the Asian Games. Experienced Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Baljeet Kaur

Men's Asian Hockey WC Qualifier: India beats Oman 12-2, loses to Pak 4-5

India will next face off against Malaysia at 1430 hrs IST and Japan at 1930 hrs IST on Thursday, August 31

Indian contingent for Asian Games: Full list of 634 Hangzhou-bound athletes

Athletics has the highest representation among Indian athletes chosen for the continental event, with 65 participants for the Asian Games Hangzhou 2023

My family sacrificed for me to chase my dreams: Hockey player Karthi Selvam

Fast-rising Karthi Selvam, one of the star performers for Indian men's hockey team in the Asian Champions Trophy, feels that he has been able to live up to expectations of his parents, who sacrificed a lot to nourish his dream of weaving magic with the stick. Karthi was the first from Tamil Nadu to be selected in the senior national men's hockey team in 13 years when he made his debut in last year's Asia Cup in Jakarta. In the ACT this year, he scored two goals and had a hand in plenty of assists. Karthi scored on his debut in the opening match against Pakistan but for the 21-year-old forward, the goal against Malaysia in the group stages of ACT was something he would cherish for his entire life as it came in front of his home and crowd and more importantly his parents. "One memory that I will always cherish is scoring my first goal of the tournament (ACT) against Malaysia. This was the very first goal that I scored in front of my family who were watching me play for the first time,

Women's Hockey ACT: Ranchi to host the event from October 27 to November 5

Following the successful conduct of the men's event in Chennai, India will next host the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament for women for the first time, in Ranchi from October 27 to November 5 this year. The seventh edition of the tournament will be a joint venture between Hockey India and the Government of Jharkhand. Besides India, defending champions Japan, runners-up Korea, China, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to participate in the tournament. The Indian women's team won the title in 2016 and in the following edition in 2018, it finished runners-up. Ranchi has previously hosted numerous Hockey India League matches from 2012 to 2015 and was home to the city-based franchise, Ranchi Rays. In recent years, the stadium has witnessed several top domestic events and boasts of a big fan base for the sport. Jharkhand has a rich hockey history, having produced seven Olympians who have represented India, including Jaipal Singh Munda, Silbanus Dungdung, Manohar Topno, Ajit Lak

India Men's hockey coach Fulton calls ACT triumph big boost for Asian Games

The Asian Champions Trophy title triumph will "really count" as India set sights on Asian Games gold in order to secure automatic qualification to 2024 Paris Olympics, said head coach Craig Fulton. The India hockey team fought back from two goals down to eke out a 4-3 win over Malaysia in the final to claim their fourth ACT title here on Saturday. With the Hangzhou Asian Games scheduled to commence on September 23, Fulton was asked whether a thrilling final like this will help the side in the continental showpiece event. "Finals are cagier; they never go smooth. It comes down to a moment or shootouts. So, it's important to have a game like this because it really counts. "At the same time, it's (ACT) not the Asian Games. So, our feet are firmly on the ground. But, if you said to me to win the Asian Games and lose this final, I would obviously vouch for winning the Games," added Fulton. Fulton said the comeback story of the team had begun two months back. "Two months ago," Fulton t

Hockey: India jump to number three in FIH rankings after ACT triumph

Giving them a big boost ahead of the Asian Games, India on Sunday rose to third in FIH rankings following their Asian Champions Trophy triumph. India (2771.35 points) jumped one place to third and went past England (2763.50 points) behind top-ranked Netherlands (3095.90 points) and Belgium (2917.87 points). This was the second time India rose to No 3 in FIH rankings. India had achieved a similar ranking in 2021 after securing a bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, which was their first medal at the Games in 41 years. On Saturday, the Harmanpreet Singh-led side defeated Malaysia 4-3 to lift the ACT title. They made an incredible comeback from 1-3 down. In the last edition of the event in 2021, India had finished third. The Indian hockey team's next assignment will be the Asian Games in Hangzhou from September 23. The ACT runners-up Malaysia remained on ninth in the FIH rankings. Apart from India and Malaysia, South Korea too find themselves at 11th while Pakistan is placed 16th.

Asian Hockey Champions Trophy 2023 winner, match results and history

A spirited India eked out a fighting 4-3 win over Malaysia in the final to clinch the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament for the fourth time on (August 12)

IND vs MAL final: India come from behind to win 4th Asian Champions Trophy

Jugraj Singh (9th minute), skipper Harmanpreet Singh (45th), Gurjant Singh (45th) and Akashdeep Singh (56th) were the goal scores for India.

Asian Games: Rani Rampal not picked in probable list of women's hockey team

Just a couple of days after Hockey India appointed her as the coach of Indian U-17 women's team, former captain Rani Rampal found herself out of the 34-strong probables list for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, starting September 23. Rampal had on Thursday lashed out at the national head coach Janneke Schopman demanding an answer as to why she was being ignored despite her fair performances lately. While she accepted the HI offer to coach the junior side, she also was categorical about not retiring from competitive sport. "I am not retiring since I know I still have more to give to the sport as a player. I have this thing in me to not give up. If I had to, I'd have given up after the Olympics," Rampal had said during a HI event earlier this week. "We have showcased in our recent competitions that we are growing as a team and are constantly learning. The upcoming camp is an important one for us as we are spearheading our preparations for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which could be our road

Hockey ACT: Craig Fulton believes in training more than sideline coaching

India hockey team head coach Craig Fulton said following his team's semifinal win over Japan in the Asian Champions Trophy that he is not someone who likes giving instructions to players from the sidelines, but prefers imparting lessons during training. India thrashed Japan 5-0 in the last-four clash to set up a title showdown here with Malaysia on Saturday. Following the huge win, Fulton said, "I don't do a lot of coaching from the sidelines, but during training. That's where the ideas are installed. Maybe, there are a few things that have to change (during the match), but it's up to the senior players to take a call." India skipper Harmanpreet Singh, too, was all praise for Fulton for bringing in "structural changes" to the side. "Every coach has a different mentality. Our past coaches have been good. Even he (Fulton) is good. Every coach thinks about the betterment of the team," said Harmanpreet after the match on Friday. "He is doing a good job. While we have brought in struct

Asian Champions Trophy: India storm into final after 5-0 thrashing of Japan

Star Sports Select 2 HD/SD and Star Sports First will live broadcast IND vs JPN hockey match in India

Rani Rampal named coach of sub-junior team, but says she isn't retiring

It remains to be seen whether she will find a place in India's squad for the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Hockey: ACT 2023, IND vs JPN preview - India start as favourites vs Japan

Maintaining intensity throughout the 60 minutes of the game and consistency in finishing would be India's targets when the hosts take on Japan in the semifinal of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Friday. No doubt, India will start as favourites after their unbeaten run in the round-robin stage, winning four matches and drawing one to top the points table. However, India would be wary of Japan, the only side the hosts have not beaten. The league match between the two sides had ended in a 1-1 draw. There is a wide gap in the world rankings between the two teams as India are at fourth spot as against 19 of Japan. But the home side should not forget that they had lost to Japan 3-5 in the semifinals of the 2021 edition in Dhaka after thrashing their opponents 6-0 in the league stage. India have scored the most number of goals -- 20 -- so far in this tournament but they missed chances galore against Japan in their league match, and the hosts will have to make amends o

I'll see how things happen after Asiad: Sreejesh opens up on his retirement

Veteran Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is taking one tournament at a time as far as his future is concerned and says he will "see how things happen" after the Asian Games in China in September-October. The 35-year-old goalkeeping legend is nearing 300 international matches after making his India debut in 2006. He is currently sharing the goalkeeping duties for India with Krishan Bahadur Pathak in the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) here. "At this age, better don't ask me about the next two years. It's all about the next one. I am at the Asian Games, and after that, I'll see how things happen. I will take it one tournament at a time," Sreejesh told PTI when asked about the possibility of him featuring in another ACT. The ACT is a biennial tournament, but the venue and dates of the next edition is yet to be announced. "As (Novac) Djokovic said, '35 is the new 25'. So, I'm definitely there," Sreejesh said after India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 on Wednesday. Sreejesh

ACT 2023: India coach hails team's 'structured', 'consistent' game vs PAK

India head coach Craig Fulton hailed his side's "structured" and "consistent" game in the 4-0 thrashing of arch-rivals Pakistan in their Asian Champions Trophy hockey match here and he's looking for his players to continue in the same vein in the semifinal against Japan. India's comprehensive 4-0 win in their last round-robin league match on Wednesday knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. Unbeaten India topped the league table with four wins and a draw and play Japan in the semifinals on Friday. "We did play a good-structured game. We did miss a few chances in the fourth quarter, but we did well overall," Fulton said during the post-match press conference. "We had some good consistency in each quarter, which we did the same during the Japan game (on August 4 which ended in 1-1 draw)." Japan sneaked into the semifinals ahead of Pakistan on better goal difference, though the two sides collected five points each. Japan had minus two goal difference as against minus five of Pakistan.